They couldn't bare to see a Samsung set at number one even for a few weeks so they wait to review the top Panny plasmas first. Even if they didn't get their little free F8500 sample they could've easily got one somehow, the set has been out for a while. It came out like 2 weeks before the ST60 and what do you know, they haven't reviewed the F8500 yet but they review the ST60 instantly and are about to review the VT60. Oh well it doesn't matter as long as I'm happy with my purchase I don't care.

I thought a good calibration would eliminate the pops and like Ken Ross thought that the black optimizer should have been included in the measured MLL's for review purposes. I stand corrected on both accounts.

I think some sets just pop more than others. IIRC, after extensive ogling, Ken saw a total of one pop on that set even pre cal.

Kevin Miller also saw some black level floating with black opt on, so he turned it off No problem on Ken's set.

So there's some variance. Knowing my luck, I'll get one with pop, floating black, banding, pink stripe, buzzing, and IR.

Without going through all the posts, I'm not sure if this is old news or not. Value Electronics has cited the panels it will be reviewing next month in its 2013 shootout. Perhaps the surprise LED panel will be the Sony 950 or Sharp Elite?

VE has already mentioned that it won't be the 950 because it was last years model. I think that will be the same decision on the Elite.

this is a little off topic but has any one seen the PN60F5500 i would like to check it out to replace my PN50C7000 the PQ has to be alot better without spend $$$$ because it will be my back up in my little den was wondering if it may be a sleeper and a bargain

My friend just got one! I don't know anything about what issues it might have or it's features, but he told me the out of the box picture was fantastic...very clear and detailed. Wish I could tell you more, but I have not seen it in person.

polakis and floridaman q's for you two....now I'm not calling you guys out or anything so remain but why would you keep this set if the band is clearly visible? perhaps it's a no return issue or the hassle of. maybe it's tolerable? just picking your brains that's all.

I have a 60 day return window through BB and am seriously thinking about exchanging the set. I just had this one calibrated for free. Long story about that.

My friend just got one! I don't know anything about what issues it might have or it's features, but he told me the out of the box picture was fantastic...very clear and detailed. Wish I could tell you more, but I have not seen it in person.

My brother recently got the 51F5300 and I was very impressed with it out of the box with a basic calibration using the Spears disc. I spent four hours with it and no brightness pops either on a variety of material (although didn't check hockey).

I'm still curious that if they did allow for calibration to disable the ABL whether that means someone asking for a high FL calibration could fry the set? I can't see why they would use a whole different equation that would eliminate the pops because then it would make sense to apply that to all other modes. I got a funny thought, what if they left out ABL in the cal day mode and then a FW update puts it back in

I saw a lot of pissed off people in one of the LCD threads when samsung disabled some of the customization of the tv via FW update and of course they didn't share the info in the release notes.

They will not knowingly allow the ABL to be disabled any more than a car company will knowingly allow airbags to be disabled(*) That way lie warranty claims and lawsuits.

* well, ok, you could probably have your airbags disabled legally, but they probably make you file several applications, get a note from your doctor, and sign a bunch of waivers.

I don't want people thinking the band is something more than it really is. Here is a picture, its more noticeable in real time but I bet you can't see the band in the photo unless you look really hard. There is one there and if you have seen the band in real life you will see it in the photo. If you have not seen the band in real life you will have to look pretty darn hard to see it.

I can see the band. It is very faint and is just above the center of the screen. Doesn't show up very well in the picture but can clearly be seen in real life. I also noticed vertical banding on your screen which is from the uneven filter Samsung has applied to the screen. My set has the exact same horizontal band and the vertical bands from the filter.

. . . The difference could have been more well spent in audio upgrades for a better total HT experience....I am 50/50 person in importance of audio and video
Warren

I like many others are on the opposite side to your opinion. The only audio that I use is the HDMI Audio Return Channel to my A/V receiver. All the rest of the audio components in my set go unused. So, the Samsung engineers probably struck a good balance.

IT was for sure the camera then, I dont see the same thing in this video. I still dont see the band though, but that could jsut be my compuer monitor sometimes these things dont come across well when a picture or video is taken...

Without going through all the posts, I'm not sure if this is old news or not. Value Electronics has cited the panels it will be reviewing next month in its 2013 shootout. Perhaps the surprise LED panel will be the Sony 950 or Sharp Elite?

yep been posted and no it wont be the 950 or Elite as those are 2012 and earlier sets.....The 950 would ahve made it if they were still making them...

I have a 60 day return window through BB and am seriously thinking about exchanging the set. I just had this one calibrated for free. Long story about that.

I would, I checked in detail and I have nothing like that. I have lote of pops though. I have a calibrator coming Friday, and I sure hope he can stop them. After reading about the last D Nice calibration, I'm not even sure I should have it calibrated. He couldn't even get Cal Day or 3D...and he still has pops How could that possibly be considered good,,,I don't get it.

I would, I checked in detail and I have nothing like that. I have lote of pops though. I have a calibrator coming Friday, and I sure hope he can stop them. After reading about the last D Nice calibration, I'm not even sure I should have it calibrated. He couldn't even get Cal Day or 3D...and he still has pops How could that possibly be considered good,,,I don't get it.

Oooops...typing in the dark is not a good thing. Sorry for the poor grammar!

My TV was set up on top of a TV stand. I can assure you that even from 6' - 8' away when you got up from the couch it was quite noticeable and disconcerting. I did not have to be directly on top of the set or laying under it as some have suggested. It was quite noticeable from across a medium sized room. I've said earlier I never saw anything like this on my eight year old Sony plasma. I lived with the F8500 for a week before it was returned so I can assure you this was not one of those things you "think" you might have seen at a Magnolia showroom or anything like that. From directly in front of the unit the picture was beautiful. You can choose to believe that this is a problem or not. After all it's your money you're spending.

I've seen about 6 of these sets and have yet to see this fluctuation from beyond a few feet. I can't understand why you're seeing this to the degree you claim and yet most other owners see nothing at typical viewing distances. Very odd.

I would, I checked in detail and I have nothing like that. I have lote of pops though. I have a calibrator coming Friday, and I sure hope he can stop them. After reading about the last D Nice calibration, I'm not even sure I should have it calibrated. He couldn't even get Cal Day or 3D...and he still has pops How could that possibly be considered good,,,I don't get it.

You might want to wait until Samsung releases the firmware update before getting it calibrated. There is also a problem with the Eco sensor engaging when it is turned off. This might strictly be an issue with my set but I wonder because another member had the same issue.

The funny thing is this si the 1st I have seen it, and I dont remember anyone else reporting seeing it either.....Of course the slides tend to bring out some weird anomolies with some of the TVs for sure (for isntance the band on the right side of Panasoics this year)....If you dotn see it during normal content it may not be much of a deal breaker however.....I have the slides on one of my test USB sticks so when I go back to Magnolia this week Ill see if I can see anything abnormal with the set there....

Interestingly, Robert's 64" F8500 had about the best screen uniformity I've ever seen on a large screen plasma. We both stood there and were amazed at how uniform a white field was. With that said, uniformity seems to be one of those aspects of PQ that has always seemed variable to me in virtually any TV model from sample to sample. My Kuro did not have the best uniformity I've seen. My Sony 929 had lousy screen uniformity, yet my friend's 929 was much better.

You might want to wait until Samsung releases the firmware update before getting it calibrated. There is also a problem with the Eco sensor engaging when it is turned off. This might strictly be an issue with my set but I wonder because another member had the same issue.

fyi - My Eco Sensor does not engage when turned off. You really should exchange it...that's two very uncommon issues.

Update: 3 days into my UMR calibration... And I'm still blown away at the PQ, 2D and 3D. This TV, once calibrated especially, is just phenomenal. I haven't had the popping stuff so much like others have (I've only seen it once on some streaming content) so maybe I'm lucky with my set, I don't know. But I would recommend this set to anyone!

That pretty much proves your point. Although it's visible, it's far less obvious and I doubt it would be at all distracting. The still shot greatly exaggerated what was there, proving once again how careful you need to be judging a display from posted pictures.

OK, just an update to the color, gamma, or whatever fluctuations I was seeing in 3D mode that were really bad on all movies. I just enabled Cinema Smooth and all brightness fluctuations went away in 3D. D-Nice told me to leave this off on regular 2D content so i did not think of enabling it on 3D but once I did all the fluctuations in 3D went away.

Anyone having a problem in 3D please try this and report back if it solves you problem.

you can bet it will be posted here in a multitude of different forums in 30 minutes

Warren

I think some people put more credibility in a CNET review (or any other review for that matter) than what they see with their own eyes. When a review doesn't fit their preconceived notion, it becomes a review 'lacking in credibility'.

You misread. I only shared Ken's opinion on the black optimizer's stability. I originally thought a good calibration in any mode would manage it out even before Ken observed a calibration, but apparently the issue is different than that.

So there's some variance. Knowing my luck, I'll get one with pop, floating black, banding, pink stripe, buzzing, and IR.

The combination of pops, floating blacks, banding, pink stripes, buzzing and IR are a mix that will nullify all of these inconsistencies, resulting in the best picture in television history. But you must get all 6, otherwise you'll suffer with a truly lousy picture.

i hesitate to post photos... but... here are a few for those who wants to see!
DISCLAIMER.... please understand the following: window behind tv made it difficult for crummy camera to focus so these are not as detailed or as sharp as picture REALLY is!